30 classic Monkees tunes in one handy set.
There is no denying the on-going appeal of the Monkees (Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, David Jones, Micky Dolenz). The Monkees were, of course, assembled more for their acting and comedic abilities than any musical ones, and many of their songs were simply disposable vehicles for a huge marketing machine; but the group eventually developed musical aspirations that yielded some strikingly good pop songs, including capable covers of Neil Diamond's "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", John Stewart's "Daydream Believer" and Harry Nilsson's "Cuddly Toy," as well as Michael Nesmith's own "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," the pop gem "Pleasant Valley Sunday," and the pleasantly psychedelic "Porpoise Song," all of which are included in this three-disc collection (at 30 tracks total, this could have easily been a double disc, or with a little editing, a super single disc - the 2 unreleased songs "Ceiling In My Room" and "You Can't Tie A Mustang Down" could have easily been excluded for that reason). Also here is the Monkees' first single, "Last Train To Clarksville," which in retrospect was a pretty good debut, which went all the way to number one (even if they didn't play their own instruments on it). This isn't the perfect introduction to the Monkees, but it does do a decent job of spotlighting a group that was, in hindsight, no worse than -- and in many cases, better than -- what passed for cool and hip at the close of the 1960s. Yes, it's true: they might not have been anywhere near the same level as the Beatles, but the Monkees did produce a fine number of pop music masterpieces.Read full review
